Insect trap



F. W. METZGER INSECT TRAP Aug. 7, 1934.

A Filed April 25, 1954 INYENTEIR P W. ME TZ EER AT T DRNEYE Patented ug.7, 1,9334 1 I 1 UNITED .STATES PATENT oFFl-CE Frederick Metzger,Moorestown, N. J., dedicated to the free use ofthe Public of the UnitedStates of America Application April z5, 1934, serial No. 122,323l

4 Claims. (Cl. i3-107) formica under thc-act or Maren t, 1883, as

amended April fao, 1.9128; :37o o o. ist.)

This application is made under the act oi A further desirable feature isthat the nonl V March 3, v1883, as amended .by the act of Aprileltectivearea be .made as 'small as possiblein 30, 1928, and .theinvention herein described, if order that a greater number of -theinsects atpatented, may be manufactured and used by or tracted will iiydirectly to those portions of the 5 for the Government for governmentalpurposes trap whereby they may be captured. An addiccwithoutthespaymenttome 'of any royalty thereon. p. tional feature of myimproved device reduces this I hereby dedicate the invention `hereindenon-effective area still further by providing aperscribed to the freeuse of the public in the terrivtures 1in the funnel or conduit wherebyJapanese tory of the United States of lAmerica to take beetles for otherinsects which seek entrance t l.1() .effect upon the granting of apatent to me. through this member may have an-opportun-ty to 65 Theinvention relates to insect traps and more so enter. particularly theJapanese beetle, although `insects Several methods have been `developedwhereby of many other species have been and may be the attractants maybe volatilizedto draw insects captured `and destroyed. i to theotrap,but preferred means are those which In trapping the Japanese beetle,particularly, dispense the vapors from the .attractants in liquid 7.0

the attractants necessary to draw this insect to 'or cake form. To `thisVend 'a container .is prothe trap induce, to the said trap, .manyindividvided whereby various types of `bait may be used uals which arenot captured, and there .is no exinterchangeably according to the desirevof the isting device which thus captures all .beetles thus operator.

` 2() attracted. Beetles attracted, but not caught, -in- Still anotheradvantage of my device is the 75 crease the infestation in the vicinityof a trap so ,elimination of additional items in construction that adevice with a low efficiency Ain respect t0 such as special Adrainageand Ventilation outlets.

capturing the attracted beetles is of little value.` This simplicityisfurther `characterized by the The Jobject of my trap and theimprovements union of all the elements with the exception of thereof isto providean inexpensive and efficient the bait container top into asingle unit. `30

device into which a large percentage of thebee- The inclusion ofV theseunique features .renders tles or other .insects vattracted will pass,and will ythe production and use ofmy device comparatively be .preventedfrom leaving. Y inexpensive as compared with other traps of a The .meansof ingress in traps of this nature similarnature and usefulness.

j is usually provided in a funnel or conduit where- With these and otherobjects in view Ifnow give 85 by 4attracted insects upon 4striking itsinterior, or a detailed description of the various .features of`.projections therefrom, are precipitated by gravvconstruction whichI`have proved., by actual test, :ity into a .receptacle from which they`cannot are capable of accomplishing the result desired escape. It ishighly desirable to attract the inand which are illustrated in thedrawing wherein n 35 sects directly Ito this funnel or to cause vthem toI have shown `rnyinvention intwo different types 90 strike `the bailleprojecting upward `therefrom of traps. whereupon they are precipitatedinto therecep- `In the drawing Fig. .1 is .a side elevationof the tacle.lhave found it tov ybe a decided advantage trap; Fig. 2 is a viewshowing fthe bait container t0 :pP-Ovide Curved baffi@ -Plate 'S0 thatthe HSGCS vassociated with the curved baille plates; Fig. 3 is 0 Will bediverted twll'd the Cell-ter 0f the device 9, top plan View of vthe,trap; .and Fig., `4 is a, View l95 i rather than the youter edges.. Uponbeing attract- 4or the trap in `a modified form..

ed toa deviceof this nature insects seek to obtain describing myinvention .I first refer to Figs. a foothold von the Various Surfaces.It iS, there- 1 and 2 wherein is shown a beetle or insect cony fore,Aessential that Such Opportunity should be Vminer 1 consisting of anordinary .jar of the reduced to a minimum. The funnel or conduit. Mason`.type although any suitable container 100 leading tothe receptaclecannot be of too great "equipped with `apscrew top `5 may be employed.e` length GiflleWSe the HSeC'S Will' take Wing This container lihas aperforation or perforations before being precipitated into thereceptacle. 2 inthe bottom 3 so that liquids flowing through Attractedlinsects, particularly the Japanese the tapered V.funnel or conduit -4may pass readily 50..beet1'e, show a .pronounced tendency to strikethrough the container. As a conduit for the pas- ,105

traps at somedistance below the funnel when the. .sage ofthe beetles orinsects into the container 1 V Ybait is located below the mouth of themember. there is provided `a tapered funnel 4, the smaller It isthusdes-irable that the bait or attractants for end of which extendsinto the top of the beetle [the Japanese beetle or 'other insects belocated container l through an appropriate opening in abcvethe funnel. VY V s the .flat surface ofthe screw top 5. This opening4 1110 f 14hereinafter the bottom and two me are approximately 1 to 11/2 issuihciently large so that when the spreading walls of the funnel orconduit 4 come in Contact with the edges of the opening in the screw top5, the smaller opening of the tapering funnel 4 eX- tends into the upperportion of the container 1 and provides an entrance into the container.The funnel or conduit is rigidly attached to the screw top, which isinternally screwthreaded as illustrated, by which it is enabled toengage the eX- ternal screw threads of the upper end ofthe insectcontainer and to which it is so attached when in use. The rim 6 at thelarger end of the funnel 4 is curled slightly in the manner illustratedto afford as little space as possible for attracted insects to crawlabout the rim, so that individuals attempting to alight thereon will beprecipitated into the container.

In the walls of the funnel 4 there are four apertures 7 positionedbetween the points of contact of the walls of the funnel and the bailleplates referred to, and these apertures may be of a preferred size andshape. 'As utilized by me, the apertures 7 are narrower at the bottomthan at the top, widening at the top to conform in shape with the funnel4. I form these apertures by cutting sides of the apertures. Theresulting flaps attached to the funnel at the top of the apertures arebent inwardly they will not extend too far into the funnel, leaving theflaps 8, which as used by inches long, although this length may varysomewhat. 'Ihe flaps 8 are bent inwardly so as to form a downwardlysloping surface within the funnel or conduit adjacent to the side wallsof the conduit. These flaps 8 should be cut at their side edges to fltas closely as possible to the sides of the baille plates as shown at 9and 10, and should extend only a* short distance into the funnel,leaving uninterrupted downward passageways through the funnel betweenthe inner edges of the flaps and the sides of the baille plates. It isessential that the flaps 8 t snugly at these two points so iat beetleswill have no opportunity of obtaining a foothold in any cracks betweenthe joints. The length of the flap 8 and the angle it is bent inwardfrom the wall of the funnel 4 are adjusted so that beetles entering thetrap above the mouth of the funnel cannot fly out or fall through theapertures below, there being an uninterrupted conduit from the top ofthe funnel to its bottom. The apertures or openings '7 are of such anature that they can be stamped out during the same operation as thefunnel. In cutting the funnel material a narrow strip 4 of the funnelwall may separate the apertures 7 from each other, these strips being incontact with the outer edges of the baille plates. However, these stripsmay of course be eliminated leaving the funnel in two sections which inthat case are held in proper relation to each other by being soldered tovthe outer edges of the baille plates.

The bail l1 is inserted through apertures' 12 on opposite sides of thefunnel 4 or alternatively through apertures l13 in the baille 14. Saidbail is equipped with a loop 15 in the center of its upper horizontalsurface which provides a convenient means of keeping the` device onlevel in the ground and said trap should be so suspended in manner.

The 2l-winged baille 14 is attached to the funnel 4 and extends downwardinto the funnel 4 partly cut olf so that when suspended from a standardinserted order to operate in a satisfactoryl for approximately one-halfof its length to the' bottom of the apertures 7 and upward from the rimof the funnel for the other half of said length which is a preferredposition.

The plates of the baille 14 are formed in the shape of a cross 'todivide vthe upper portion of the` funnel or conduit into separatepassages through which the beetles drop when they come in contact withthe baille plates.

The plates of the baille 14 do not extend upwards for a greater distancebecause beetles striking said baille at too great a height from thebeetle receptacle are able to take wing before entering said receptaclethrough the funnel or conduit. It is a preferred construction that thewings of the baille also project into said funnel or conduit to thebottom of or slightly below the apertures 7 so that insects entering thefunnel through one may not have an opportunity to ily out throughanother opposite or adjacent to the one through which entrance waseffected.

foothold `with the result that some will escape capture. through thefunnel walls on v funnel and are consequently lost.

The bait container 16 is preferably constructed of perforated metalplate for ilve-sixths of its length and of solid metal plate for theremainder, said length being three-fourths the length of the baille 14,starting at the top of the The perforation permits volatilization of theattractive vapors while the solid bottom andv lower portion prevents anyof the attractive materials from dripping'into the funnel 4. Said baitcontainer is located intermediate the four wings of the baille 14 asshown'in the drawing, being soldered or otherwise attached thereto bythe angular sections 17 of the baille 14. The bait container 16 issurmounted by a flat removable cover 18 which projects laterally beyondsaid container to afford protection from rain. Said cover 18 serves anadditional purpose when bait dispensed by a wick is employed in thecontainer 16, being equipped on its lower surface 19 With a metallicloop 20 to engage a hook 21 attachedl to the wick 22 in the mannerillustrated. The said container 16 is of preferred size and shape sothat the proper quantity of the attractive branbase bait for eillcientoperation may be placed in a bottle or other suitable receptacle ofconvenient size 23 resting on the bottom 24 of the bait container 16 andbe dispensed by the said wick 22, considerable vertical space beingproimpregnate the attractants on such materials as plaster Paris orpumice, said container is also of preferred size for the use of saidbait.

In Fig. 4 of the drawing I have illustrated my invention in a slightlydifferent type of trap. In this device the parts 1-6 (except 4) and11-14, inclusive, are identical with the parts correspondingly numberedin Fig. 1 of the drawing. vOne departure from the device as shown inFig. l is that the funnel 25 is of a length equal to the baille plates.'

length of the baille 14 projecting above said unnel 25, which is apreferred type of construction in that it reduces the non-eiectivesection of the funnel to an area smaller than that section of the trapwhereby beetles can be captured. This feature further reduces the costof construction. The bait container 26 is mounted in the baffle 14 in amanner similar to the device previously described. Said containerl 26is, however, of somewhat different construction than the heretoforementioned structure 16, being equipped with several downwardlyprojecting flaps 27 formed by cutting the walls of the container 26 toallow the escape of attractive vapors through the apertures 28. Thiscontainer 26 aords more protection to the bait than does the container16, but the latter may be employed without prejudice. Said container 26is also of a preferred size and shape which permits the use of bait inseveral forms.

It will be readily understood that my device may be constructed so thatfunnel 4 may be used with said container 26 and said funnel 25 with saidcontainer 16.

Having fully disclosed my discovery, I claim:

1. An insect trap, comprising an insect container, a downwardly taperedconduit one end of which extends vertically into the upper portion ofsaid insect container and the other end of which projects verticallyabove the insect container, the walls of said conduit having insectentrance apertures, and downwardly sloping deflecting flaps over theapertures within the con. duit, a baille having outwardly curvedcross-baille plates projecting upwardly from the conduit for divertinginsects into the conduit, and downwardly into the conduit to a pointbelow said apertures, a bait container positioned intermediate thecurved plates of the baille and extending from the top of the bailleplates to a point below the top of the conduit and having a plurality ofopenings in its walls, means to protect the interior of the baitcontainer from rain, a bait vapor dispenser means adapted to the use ofdry and liquid bait and means to suspend the insect trap from anyconvenient source of support.

2. An insect trap comprising an insect container, a downwardly taperingconduit projecting vertically from the container, the walls of saidconduit having insect entrance apertures and downwardly slopingdeilecting iiaps over the apertures within the conduit, a baieprojecting vertically from and above said conduit comprising a centraltubular section extending from the top of the baille to a point belowthe top of the conduit, closed at its lower end and having perforationsin its wall, and outwardly curved baille plates radially and rigidlysecured to the wall of the tubular section and extending from the top ofthe tubular section to a point below said apertures, and a removablecover having a loop centrally secured to its under surface and extendinglaterally beyond the tubular section to protect its perforated wall fromrain, a liquid bait receptacle positioned in the bottom of the tubularsection, a wick suspended from the loop in the cover and passing throughthe tubular section into the bait receptacle.

3. In an insect trap having an insect container, a downwardly taperedconduit the lower end of which extends vertically into the container andthe other end of which extends vertically above the container, the wallsof said conduit having insect entrance apertures and downwardly slopingdeilecting flaps extending inwardly over said apertures, a baffleprojecting vertically from and above the conduit comprising a centraltubular section closed at its lower end with a removable cover at itsupper end and having perforatons in its walls and horizontally curvedbale plates radially and rigidly secured to the walls of the tubularsection, the baille extending into the conduit to a point below saidapertures and the central tubular section extending from the top of thebale plates to a point below the top of the conduit.

4. In an insect trap having an insect container and a baffle above thecontainer, a downwardly tapered conduit projecting upwardly from thecontainer and from the upper end of which there projects the baille, thewalls of said conduit having insect entrance apertures above the lowerend of the baille and downwardly sloping deiiecting flaps extendinginwardly over said apertures.

FREDERICK W. METZGER.

